Do you have an amazing shot of vibrant sea life along Laguna Beach’s beaches and coves?

The Laguna Bluebelt Coalition is opening its annual photo contest to showcase why Laguna Beach’s oceanfront could be considered among the most spectacular in California.

This year’s theme celebrates the ongoing recovery of ocean life and its kelp forests. The photo contest, open to professional and amateur photographers, will accept entries from June 4 to July 5. Cash awards will go to top winners in each category.

The Bluebelt Coalition is dedicated to educating the public about the town’s beaches, which are designated as marine protected areas. In fact, Laguna Beach’s coastline is the largest protected area in Southern California.

Decades of over-fishing diminished much of California’s marine life and prompted state officials in the late 1990s to establish a network of the protected areas to give marine life an opportunity to rebound.

“It’s really a contest that highlights our (marine protected areas),” said Jinger Wallace, co-founder of the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition. “When we go to the beach, it’s the MPAs making it beautiful otherwise; we wouldn’t have these beautiful fish.”

Wallace said since the marine protected areas have been enforced – now for nearly a decade – scientists have witnessed significant improvement in the number and size of fish off Laguna Beach.

“Fishermen get the spillover,” Wallace said, explaining that many of the fish from the protected rocky coastline and coves swim outside of the protected zones and then can legally be fished. “It’s a win-win, and the public gets to enjoy a more alive ocean and fishermen get bigger fish.”

A winner’s reception will be hosted on Aug. 4 at the Laguna College of Art & Design to coincide with the city’s popular Thursday Art Walk and there will be displayed at the LCAD Gallery from Aug. 4 through Aug. 18.

To enter the contest, visit contest.lagunabluebelt.org. 

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